DIY Pot Noodle

Taken from the River Cottage Veg: Everyday! book, this recipe is a fantastic lunch or dinner solution for me when I’m in the studio late and need sustenance. Endless variations, with noodles as well as the veg and flavours to choose from, rice noodles are particularly good. My variation included bits I had in the fridge, mushrooms, spring onions, kale, fennel and some frozen peas. Hugh suggests a Kilner for the pot, I used my Aladin Bento box, separating the wet from the dry ingredients in the compartments.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s DIY ‘pot’ noodles

“I first experimented with these when I was looking at ways to improve workday lunches. However the concept works equally well as a fast and very satisfying supper. It’s important to find the right kind of noodle – one that will soften nicely in boiling water from the kettle without the need for pan-cooking. I find flat, thin, quick-cook egg noodles fit the bill very well. The ‘pot’ should be covered once the water is added…with this in mind, a sealable heatproof jar, such as a kilner, is ideal.

1 nest thin, quick-cook egg noodles

1tsp vegetable bouillon powder

A big pinch of soft brown sugar

1 small carrot, peeled and very finely sliced

3-4 spring onions, finely sliced

6 sugar snap peas or frozen petit pots

1 leaf of spring greens/green cabbage/leaves pak choi, shredded

1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger

1/2 garlic clove, grated

1/4 red or green chilli, finely chopped

2 tsp soy sauce

juice of 1/2 a lime

Put all the ingredients, except the soy sauce and the lime, in a ‘pot’. Pour over boiling water to cover, and leave for 8-10 minutes covered. Stir, add the soy sauce and lime juice to taste and eat. ”